Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will refuse any application to raise clamping charges in view of the increased pressures already felt by motorists; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37233/12]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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The current maximum declamping fee that may be charged by public authorities for parking offences on public land was set by statute in 1998 at £65 which, with the introduction of the Euro, converted to €80. I have received no formal application to have that fee increased.

The Programme for Government contains a commitment to legislate to regulate the vehicle clamping industry. In this regard, I presented a discussion document to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Environment, Transport, Culture and the Gaeltacht in December 2011 in which I outlined the principal issues to be addressed in regulating the industry and my proposals on the shape of appropriate legislation and invited their views. The Committee responded to me on 28 March last in a comprehensive report which contained a number of recommendations.  In its report, the Committee made specific recommendations in relation to the level of declamping fees, to which I will give careful consideration when framing the legislation.  It is my intention to bring my proposals for legislation on vehicle clamping to Government in the near future. I do not propose to sanction any increase in clamping charges prior to the proposed new legislation being debated in the Oireachtas.